About This Issue [explanation of the connection to the past]

In the article, “Workplace Religious Freedom Act” which can be found at civilrights.org, it talks about religious injustices that still exists in the world. “There have been many instances of employers who would not make reasonable accommodations for the obligations of the Sikh faith that required the wearing of turban, having beard or wearing head scarf,” (Article: Workplace Religious Freedom Act). This means that Sikh Americans couldn’t follow their customs. For example, there was a recent incident in New York, a veteran subway motorman, who’s Sikh, was taken out of his seat, which was the driver’s seat, because he was wearing a traditional turban while working.

Many people have stood up to this injustice and tried to stop it. Organizations such as SCORE (Sikh Council on Religion and Education) and SALDEF (Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund; oldest Sikh American organization for civil rights and advocacy) understand that people shouldn’t have to choose between keeping their job and following their religion. Organizations like these speak out to the public and make them aware of unfair treatment. Recently the WFRA (Workplace Religious Freedom Act) was enforced; this stated that people aren’t allowed to force people to choose between their religion and job, which many organizations (SCORE & SALDEF) strongly supported.